Cole wore a cream suit from Husbands in Paris and shoes by Gucci. All of the couple’s accessories were put together by Carly’s stylist Hayley Atkin, who selected shirts, shoes, cufflinks, and boutonnieres.
The bridesmaids were given a jewel-toned color palette and the ability to select their own dresses. The groomsmen were also given full rein to do their own thing and chose suits to their liking.
Carly’s aunt and uncle officiated the intimate ceremony in front of just 100 guests in the hotel’s Bard Room. “Being present and at ease was key for both of us,” Carly says. “We wanted it to feel romantic and full of emotion. Our family talked about how we met, and we wrote personal vows to each other that we read aloud.”
They were both surprised when they didn’t cry. “We were expecting to,” Carly remembers. “But the energy was just light and joyful. Between the bright baby blue of the background, the wildflowers that surrounded us, and the intimate lighting, walking down the aisle felt like a fever dream. Nothing will top the moment when we first locked eyes, and to be honest, for the first half of the ceremony we couldn’t see anyone else.”
After the ceremony, the newlyweds took time to be alone together. Their planner Stefanie ushered them out to the street and in front of a little storefront next to the Chelsea. “We giggled and kissed and just tried to take it in before the cocktail party began,” Carly recalls.
At the cocktail party, Carly’s childhood friend Molly Ryan sang with her jazz trio. “This was a highlight of the night,” Carly says. The couple wanted to give their guests a memento connected to the Chelsea, as well as to their personal history. The first book Carly ever gave Cole was Leonard Cohen’s The Book of Longing, and Patti Smith’s Just Friends is one of their shared favorites, so those books—and the bookmarks that went with them—directed guests to their seats for dinner.
Later on, after dinner and toasts, Carly’s friend Rufus Wainwright surprised everyone with an a capella version of Cohen’s “Chelsea Hotel #2.” “This felt like a once-in-a-lifetime New York moment,” Carly says.
Looking back a few weeks later, Carly and Cole are still overcome. “Often in life we’ll imagine things, and even though the reality can be good, it’s never quite as good,” Carly says. “This day felt like the exception. It was better than either one of our wildest dreams. We felt connected through the whole thing, which was really important to us. In fact, we even had a few special songs planted in the DJ’s setlist so that, no matter where we were at the moment, when we heard those songs, we would come find each other.”
